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Learning Objective 1: Describe how practice domains of the Geriatric Nursing Leadership Academy and the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists complemented and enhanced leadership development.
Learning Objective 2: Describe the influence of a Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist led interdisciplinary research team in improving outcomes through Function Focused Care.
The leadership project Dissemination and Implementation of Function Focused Care (FFC) for Elderly Trauma Patients into an Acute Care Setting challenged the GCNS to form an interprofessional team, engage staff, and change unit culture to enhance function and activity for elder trauma patients. A single group pre/post research design was chosen to permit publication of the intervention study. Following baseline surveys and observations, nurses attended an education session featuring functional assessment, nursing interventions, and motivational techniques incorporating function and physical activity into routine care. Nurse champions reinforced FFC behaviors with unit staff 10 hours per week. Surveys and observations were repeated 2 and 4 months post intervention. Outcome measures included FFC interactions, patient infections, falls, pressure ulcers, and readmissions. The team integrated FFC into unit care delivery, demonstrating how scholarly, evidence-based practices exert organizational impact through enhanced patient outcomes and decreased adverse events. The value of FFC programs targeting vulnerable elders was emphasized. Study results were disseminated nationally. A podium presentation at the 2011 Gerontological Advance Practice Nurses Association Annual Conference in Washington DC highlighted research methods and outcomes. A poster presentation at the 2011 American Nurses Credentialing Center National Magnet Conference in Baltimore detailed integration of this research into unit culture.
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